Doctor Who

[Davros sock drawer]

What's stopping them from trying again, though? They just go on as though they can't go back 12 months. Daftness.

D'oh! Because then there wouldn't have been a story? And besides, the Tardis might have gone even wronger. It was 100 years out in Tooth & Claw. Come on, give them a break.

[Bad Ambassador]

D'oh! Because then there wouldn't have been a story? And besides, the Tardis might have gon even wronger. It was 100 years out in Tooth & Claw. Come on, give them a break.

Exactly. By the time the Doctor realised his mistake Rose had already seen Jackie. So it's not like they can just piss off again back to the TARDIS and hope to go back twelve months. If that was the case there wouldn't be a bloody series, as they could just use the TARDIS to bugger off from every single difficult situation.

Besides, it made for a good premise.

[Mogster]

Exactly. By the time the Doctor realised his mistake Rose had already seen Jackie. So it's not like they can just piss off again back to the TARDIS and hope to go back twelve months. If that was the case there wouldn't be a bloody series, as they could just use the TARDIS to bugger off from every single difficult situation.

Yup. The same goes for TGitF, where either Rose or Mickey asked if they could just take the Tardis back to France in the past, only for the Doctor to reply that they couldn't as they were "already involved now". Once the Doctor and co. are part of a timeline, they can't interfere with themselves. Otherwise bad stuff happens like in Father's Day.

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah and in Back To The Future why didn't he just say to the Doc "when you invent a time machine can you stick a couple of spare plutonium pellets in the back seat, ta".

OMG TIME TRAVEL STUFF IS SHIT!

[Massive Invisible Dog]

I love when people try to apply logic to time travel.

[Darren]

My kids sat transfixed throughout this week's episode, in near-total silence from beginning to end (the first time that's ever happened, like, ever) both on Saturday and again last night when they asked to watch it again. I think that's down to the use of Elton as a narrator so he was always telling them what was happening and giving them pointers for the next scene: "And that's when things really went wrong," etc. Normally they ask us what's going to happen and who people are every 2 minutes, but this time it was as if the main character was telling them directly.

So, there were six in our house who thought it was brilliant.

And, completely unrelated, so did Caitlin Moran.

Weekend TV

Caitlin Moran

“Do you still have anything left to say about Doctor Who?” my editor asked, with mild disbelief. “You have now written about this series four times in the past six weeks.” Do I still have anything left to say about Doctor Who (Sat, BBC One)? He might just as well have asked if I have anything left to say about the changing seasons, or the night sky, or my children or, frankly, myself.

When something is as good as Doctor Who — and, currently, it’s one of the best things about Britain in the 21st century — there’s always something to say about it. It’s like having a conversation about the Beatles. Theoretically, a conversation about the Beatles could span every aspect of humanity, theology, morality, art, sociology, fashion, and continue on up to the point where we die.

In fact, now I come to think of it, we’re all just continuing conversations about the Beatles handed down to us by our parents, and which we will, in turn, pass on to our children. Conversation about the Beatles is eternal — and the Beatles were just four lads from Liverpool. One of whom was Ringo.

Doctor Who, on the other hand, has the bonus of being about a goddamn Time Lord — with a Tardis! — minxing about the universe with a hot assistant; an assistant with whom the Doctor is locked in a situation of intensifying and possibly critical sexual tension. And that’s before we consider its other conversation-starting elements — such as its predilection for dealing with all the big issues of emotion and morality. Or the way the show was resurrected 20 years after its death by the wittiest, most postmodern fan a programme could hope to have: Russell T. Davies.

All that said, this week’s episode was essentially ephemeral. It was a bit of slapstick with Peter Kaye as a vile Absorbaluff — a lascivious green blob of what appeared to be the expanding foam that you inject into cavity walls, which was sporadically sprinkled with tufts of disturbing black hair, much in the manner of greasy spoon macaroni. Kaye, fairly understandably, appeared to be having a ball — licking his lips, rolling his eyes and brandishing his hoofy fingers with a well-observed delicacy.

After Absorbaluffing one of the episode’s heroines, Ursula, he commented, “She tastes like chicken,” in the same way people do when they’re at a novelty bistro, trying crocodile meat, or snake.

In the event, the Doctor and Rose appeared merely as guest-stars in their own show — a small, humorous scrap with a cameo alien, and then materialising in the Tardis for a one-liner. The whole thing was clearly a mid-season intermission. A bit of light relief from the gathering clouds of the story-arc of the series — which, we gather from hints dropped in previous episodes, will centre on how and why the Doctor ended up killing all the other Time Lords. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this prospect. I was less thrilled and terrified about the impending birth of my first child.

However, as the episode was written by Davies, it was an exercise in the scale of the confidence and whimsy an artist can have in his or her Imperial Phase. An entirely digressionary treatise on the joys of ELO, a one-second clip of Elton John, the careless joy of the Doctor and Rose trying to kill a non-essential alien in the style of the Two Stooges — and then cutting it all dead with an unexpected, chilling line of dialogue, “Anyone getting close to the Doctor is eventually destroyed.”

Even when playing with the loveliest toy a scriptwriter ever had, Davies is hard as nails.

[jonathanhoey]

I was less thrilled and terrified about the impending birth of my first child.

This woman's priorities in life are obviously totally fucked.

[Davros sock drawer]

I think it's probably a wee joke about how excited she is, don't you?

[jonathanhoey]

I think it's probably a wee joke about how excited she is, don't you?

There is no place for jokes when discussing that episode. None.

[Edit: ok, she was talking about how excited she is for the series' conclusion, which is fair enough - hopefully L&M will just be an execrable blip in this otherwise superb series.]

[Davros sock drawer]

Excuse me, I used execrable, stop cribbing from my thesauraus!

Whilst I don't agree with you about the episode, I do agree it should be a one off.

Oh, and the sexual tension is pretty in your face sometimes, at least from Rose's side.

[K]

One of my flatmate's friend's said I looked like the spit of David Tennant before! It's not true, but it's still very flattering.

Sorry, I just had to share that, and this seemed the most appropriate place.

[toonfool]

Before what? Has he recovered from an illness?

[jonathanhoey]

Excuse me, I used execrable, stop cribbing from my thesauraus!

OK then. How about 'shit'?

This definitely is a Marmite episode, eh?

[Garwoofoo]

OK then. How about 'shit'?

This definitely is a Marmite episode, eh?

Certainly is. My breakdown for the series so far is:

Bloody excellent episodes: The Girl In The Fireplace, Love & Monsters

Good episodes: Impossible Planet / Satan Pit, School Reunion

OK episodes: Tooth & Claw, Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel

Shit episodes: New Earth, The Idiot's Lantern

Maybe I'm just odd.

[pretentious_helvetica]

OK episodes: Tooth & Claw

Maybe I'm just odd.

Yep.

[Meh]

D'oh! Because then there wouldn't have been a story? And besides, the Tardis might have gone even wronger. It was 100 years out in Tooth & Claw. Come on, give them a break.

Yet manages to go back to the precise moment in Father's Day. IDGI.

[toonfool]

Father's Day is the perfect example of why you shouldn't mess around with things that have already happened in your timeline. They went back as observers, when Rose intervened it caused a massive problem.

[Meh]

Father's Day is the perfect example of why you shouldn't mess around with things that have already happened in your timeline. They went back as observers, when Rose intervened it caused a massive problem.

Yes, well, he should obviously make her watch Back to the Future before letting her out of the box, innit.

[toonfool]

It's obvious that the TARDIS' problems are tools for the writers. I think that's fine. If you really want to pick at the loose threads in the jumper of the show, you'll end up with a mess of wool at your feet. It's best just to sit back and accept the universe(s) that you're given.

Yes, well, he should obviously make her watch Back to the Future before letting her out of the box, innit.

[cassidy]

If you really want to pick at the loose threads in the jumper of the show, you'll end up with a mess of wool at your feet.

Now if I still had a sig, that would be my new one

[Matt G]

Yet manages to go back to the precise moment in Father's Day. IDGI.

Assume you've got hold of most of the first series now then - have you watched Dalek yet? If you don't like that there's probably not much hope that you'll like any of it, though Captain Jack's pretty cool later on.

[FishyFish]

Yet manages to go back to the precise moment in Father's Day. IDGI.

It's not totally knackered, but it is unpredictable. It's basically a storytelling tool though - sometimes it needs to go to a specific place and time, but other times it's a good way to get the crew into an interesting scrape.

[Meh]

Assume you've got hold of most of the first series now then - have you watched Dalek yet? If you don't like that there's probably not much hope that you'll like any of it, though Captain Jack's pretty cool later on.

I thought Dalek was ace, once I got past the absolutely fucking rubbish EVIL GUY & CO.

The Dalek itself should've been utterly hilarious with the daft speech and the stupid-looking design, but somehow it worked.

[Matt G]

I thought Dalek was ace, once I got past the absolutely fucking rubbish EVIL GUY & CO.

The Dalek itself should've been utterly hilarious with the daft speech and the stupid-looking design, but somehow it worked.

Yup, definately my favourite, love how ruthless it was when it sets off the sprinklers and then electrocutes eeeveryone at once And then when you thought it was going to turn out to go all soft because of contact with Rose it describes what's happening to it as sickness, brilliant. Probably the most rewatchable of the first series I reckon, did you notice the Alien egg in the museum at the start?

[jonathanhoey]

I just rewatched 'Love and Monsters' with the audio commentary. It didn't improve in my estimation, in fact it was slightly worse the second time round.

Whilst I don't agree with you about the episode, I do agree it should be a one off.

Sadly, no such luck. According to RTD in the commentary, they'll be doing one of these irrelevant wastes of time in every series from now on.

"Double banking", as they call it - ie getting the second unit to film an extra non-Doctor episode at the same time as the main crew films a standard episode with the Doctor - will be necessary to fit a 14-episode run into 13 episodes' worth of shooting schedule.

Yawn.

OK, I'm not going to whinge about L&M from now on. It is what it is, lots of people seem to like it, and I promise I won't slag it off any more

[FishyFish]

Sadly, no such luck. According to RTD in the commentary, they'll be doing one of these irrelevant wastes of time in every series from now on.

"Double banking", as they call it - ie getting the second unit to film an extra non-Doctor episode at the same time as the main crew films a standard episode with the Doctor - will be necessary to fit a 14-episode run into 13 episodes' worth of shooting schedule.

Depends what they do with them though. While I liked LaM, I wouldn't want to see too many 'comedy' episodes. However, I think they could do something really interesting - imagine a story where The Doctor doesn't arrive until the threat is in full force. You could have the Double Banking episode as the build up, establishing secondary characters and situations, and the lead in to whatever is happening, then this could lead into the next episode where The Doctor arrives to sort things out. Or maybe The Doctor never arrives during the events and it's a completely self-contained, Doctorless story, but then in a later episode a story takes place amidst the aftermath of whatever happens, maybe centuries later. Could be a good thing.

[Davros sock drawer]

I think this was a burden placed on RTD by the Beeb, rather than a decision on his part.

As Fishy says, they don't have to be in the same vein or have the same tone as LaM at all. It could be about anything.

[cassidy]

Depends what they do with them though. While I liked LaM, I wouldn't want to see too many 'comedy' episodes. However, I think they could do something really interesting - imagine a story where The Doctor doesn't arrive until the threat is in full force. You could have the Double Banking episode as the build up, establishing secondary characters and situations, and the lead in to whatever is happening, then this could lead into the next episode where The Doctor arrives to sort things out. Or maybe The Doctor never arrives during the events and it's a completely self-contained, Doctorless story, but then in a later episode a story takes place amidst the aftermath of whatever happens, maybe centuries later. Could be a good thing.

I like that idea fishy

EDIT: Here ya go a SFX preview of the penultimate episode.

http://www.sfx.co.uk/news/doctor_who_previ..._army_of_ghosts

[cassidy]

If anyone wants to know whats inside the thingy the SFX preview mentions I will post it in a spoiler.

its a black dalek, so thats Daleks and Cybermen in the finale

[Andsom]

I think this was a burden placed on RTD by the Beeb, rather than a decision on his part.

As Fishy says, they don't have to be in the same vein or have the same tone as LaM at all. It could be about anything.

Perhaps they could do a multiple Doctors episode? Get Ecclestone back and that means that Tennant wouldn't be needed for as much during that ep.